Vacuum cleaner



Dec. 7, 1937. D, M, ow 2,101,575

VACUUM CLEANER Filed Dec. 4, 1955 E INVENTOR l'{ A v w Haiti; I. @04 Z,f 36 1/0 of I: ATTZRNEY Watented Dec. 7, 1937 ICE Application December4, 1935, Serial No. 53.6w

2 Claims.

This invention relates to vacuum cleaners of the type embodying a fancasing"and handle rigidly attached together. The object of the presentinvention is to improve upon that type '5 of cleaner by providing anarrangement in which the undercarriage has suiiicient spread to supportthe cleaner in upstanding position, unaided, on the supporting surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide 10 in a vacuum cleaner,rotary agitator mechanism including independently driven brushing andbeating elements coaxially mounted on the same spindle but rotating atdifferent rates of speed so as to achieve a maximum of beating effectwith 15 a minimum of wear upon the carpet.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of acleaner embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof, partly in cross section.

Fig. 3 is a partial .sectional view taken longitudinally through thelower region of the cleaner.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the rotary agitator.

5 The invention comprises a floor unit A and a swinging unit B. Theformer comprises a base member or undercarriage Ill mounted on 'forwardand rear wheels H and I2 respectively. A suction nozzle. 13, formed onthe forward end of 30 the base overhangs the front wheels H. A motor iiis mounted on top of the nozzle l3 9. d drives a rotary agitator l5;revolubly mou d in the nozzle, by means of a belt l6.

A throat ll, extending rearwardly from the 35 nozzle I 3, is bifurcatedto form the opposed hollow bearing members l8. i

The swinging unit B comprises atubular suction handle IS, a fan caseZllrigidly secured thereto, by means of a secondary inlet duct 2!,

40 and a primary inlet duct 22, swivelled to the unit A by means ofnipples 23. The latter are;

threaded as at 24 into the ring shaped lower end 25 of the inlet 22, andhave trunnion portions 26 journalled in the bearing members I8. 45 A bag21 is suspended beneath the handle I9 and has a neck 29 coupled to theoutlet of the fan case 20, which swings as a unit with thehandle 19,rigidly positioned at a fixed f distance therefrom.

50 The base III has suilicient spread in a air tion longitudinal of thecleaner to support the entire cleaner, unassisted, in an upstandingposition as shown, with the unit B upraised off the floor. A ratchetsector 30, secured to the inlet 55 22, coacts with a pawl 3| pivotallymounted in the base I l actuated into operative engagement with thesector 30 by means of a'spring 32, and

- released by depression of a foot lever 33. This pawl eand ratchetarrangement transmits the weight of the unit B to the unit A andsupports the unit B in any desired upraised position. A valve 34selectively connects either inlet 2| or 5 N to the suction. fan 20. i

The rotary agitator it comprises a spindle 3! to the end regions ofwhich are secured a pair of sleeves 32' and on the middle region ofwhich is joumalled a sleeve 33. Mounted'on the sleeves 32' are brushingelements 34' and mounted on the sleeve 33 are beater bars 35. Strips ofresilient material 36 form the connection between the beater bars 35 andthe sleeve 33.

The sleeve 33 is freely rotatable upon the spindle 3| while the sleeves32' are fixed relative thereto. The spindle 3! is driven by means of apulley 31 secured to one of the sleeves 32' and the sleeve 33 isindependently driven by a pulley 38. The pulley 31 is driven by the belti6 which in turn is driven by a -drive pulley 39 on the motor I, whilethe pulley 38 is driven by a belt 40 which in turn is driven by adrive'pulley 4| on the motor ll. The drive pulley 4| is considerablyless in diameter than the pulley 39 so that the brushing elements 34'will be'driven at a considerably slower speed than the beater eleinents35.

By means of this arrangement, the brushing elements which serveto pickup lint, thread, etc., and to brush up the nap of the carpet, are drivenrapidly "enough to perform these functions ef-- flciently and yet theyare driven at a much slower rate of rotation than they would be ifrigidly associated to the beater members, and thus do 5 much less damageto the carpet than would be true'in the case of rigid association. Thisis im:- portant because of the fact that the brushing elements do' mostof the damage to the carpet, and the beating efiect, which requires arapid 40 rotation is produced by the faster rotating beater members.Thus beating efiiciency is maintained at a high level while the damageto the rug is greatly reduced.

I claim as my-invention:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, a rotary agitator including a spindle, brushingand beating elements mounted thereon, said elements being rotatablerelative to each other, and means for'rotating said elementsindependently. 5

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a. rotary agitator including a spindle, brushingand beating elements mounted thereon, said elements being rotatablerelative to each other, and means for rotating said elementsindependently at different speeds.

DEWEY M. DOW.

